This beautifully written debut tells a fictionalized, loosely based version of the relationship between James Taylor and Joni Mitchell in the late 1960s. This coming-of-age tale follows Jane Quinn, a talented singer, as she rockets to stardom, encounters extreme sexism in the music industry, battles with wanting to stay true to herself and her music, whether to choose love or a career, the stigma of mental illness, and more. Brodie brings the music of the era to life and had me wishing I could actually listen to Jane’s music. Songs in Ursa Major is truly stunning and is my favorite book of the year so far.

Simply the best book I’ve read this year. It will take A LOT for another book to knock this out of top spot for me.
I still think about this book daily, and force it on as many people as possible 🤣

Perfection. That’s what this book is. There is not a single thing I can say about it that isn’t of the highest praise. It’s pure perfection from front cover to back cover. I loved it so much I hugged it to my chest when I was done.⁣
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It is a love story. It is a story about family, and the ties that break us. It is a story about feminism and loving ourselves. It is a story of addiction. It’s a story about music. There are so many layers that all beautifully meld together to create a story of pure gold.⁣
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There’s not enough stars in the sky to rate this book. My heart is bursting with the love I have for Jane and Jesse, and their journey. Get this book. You need it in your life. I cannot wait to see what @emma.c.brodie writes next. Where do you go when your first book is already at the top?

THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING. Easily a top 5 of the year, maybe my favorite book of the year. I'm gutted. So emotional and moving, but with a kick-ass female protagonist. I will read anything Emma Brodie writes - this was phenomenal.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It intrigued me. I was looking for something to make a wait at the hospital pass by. This was a great book for that purpose. The main characters of Jane and Jesse were well written. Each showing their complexities. I will definitely look for another book by this author.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley for my voluntary, honest review.

This book captivated me from the beginning. I love the storyline and setting. I really appreciate the time period, too - 1969 into the early 1970s. The world was complicated; the Vietnam war, political tensions, changes in society from the wholesome, family oriented 1950's and early '60s. Music was undergoing some vast changes - early rock and roll evolved from and toward other genre's; Motown, country, folk, pop, rock, psychedelic. The music industry was a male dominated world; white male men calling the shots of what would sell and what would not.

Jane held several jobs on her small island off the coast of Massachusetts, but the gig that gave her the most joy was performing music in front of her hometown audience with her band The Breakers, made up of long time friends. Upcoming rock star Jesse was booked as the main event for the island's Folk Festival. At the last moment Jane's band was asked to pick up the slack when Jesse mysteriously cannot perform. As fortune would have it, Will, from Jesse's music label is in the audience and is captivated by Jane's performance. The story is the tumultuous twist that Jane's life takes as a result of that evening; the ups and down's of maneuvering the music industry in the early 1970s, but also of living life itself.

Jane was a feminist before it was widely known what the term meant. She recognized the gulf between she and her male counterparts. She believed that her strength, her passion, and her determination would carry her through and lead her to the top. It was a long hard battle, and Jane nearly loses all she worked so hard for, yet, in a strange twist of greed and luck she eventually earns her freedom and her right to do her own thing.

I will not post a spoiler, but I was not pleased with the ending of the book. After so much time spent laying out Jane's battle and all she endured and sacrificed, I found the epilogue did answer lingering questions, but not in a way that felt satisfying. That is a personal opinion; not all stories, real or fictional have perfect, pat endings, so I understand why it all played out as it did. It was a good story filled with characters that really depended upon each other - especially the women in Jane's life, and I am glad to have been given a chance to read it.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the family dynamics and they way they intertwined within the story. I really didn't like the ending as much. But I really did love the book.

If you need a summer escape, this book is for you.

Just when I thought I had read enough books about fictional rock stars lately, Songs in Ursa Major proved me wrong. Jane Quinn is an aspiring musician living in a small town with her Cousin, Aunt, and Grandmother. Together, they embody female empowerment and independence -- so when Jane gets her big break in the music industry, she's unwilling to accept the powerful sexism she faces. Together with Jesse Reid, another local star, she works through the creation of her first album and tour....and maybe starts to fall a little bit in love. But, you know what they say: sex, drugs, and rock & roll. It's a wild ride following Jane and Jessie's paths in music, but the real reason to read this book is for the sisterhood and resilience of the women in Jane's family. You won't want to put this down once you start it!

4 stars.
I’ve read a few musician biographies/memoirs recently, and at a few points during this book, I had to remind myself that Songs in Ursa Major was a work of fiction and not another memoir. Janie Q and Jesse Reid and their world really rang true to me. I often found myself cheering for Jane and her feisty determination to do things her way.

However, I really couldn’t say the same about some of the other supporting characters who seemed to fall just a bit flat for me. I had a hard time keeping some of them straight. For example, Jane’s family members and some of the other musicians really seemed a bit indistinguishable at times. (ie, Was she the aunt or the cousin? Was he the drummer, or the bassist?) I think they could have been fleshed out a little more. Despite that, I was engrossed in this book almost from the first page. It will be a great summer vacation/beach read. I am looking forward to reading more from Emma Brodie in the future.

I’m very grateful to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review Songs From Ursa Major.

60’s and 70’s rocks no roll. What more do you need? This was a fantastic tale about a woman who tries to break into the rock scene. But it was not easy or fair due to discrimination. There is a budding romance. And unexpected surprises. I was swept away with this book. I imagined I was right in the thick of things back then. I really enjoyed this well written tale.

I definitely got Daisy Jones and the Six vibes from this, as this is another book about a female trying to make it in the music industry int he 1960's/1970's. Jane seems to come from nowhere and be given the opportunity to be a star, but she is very strong-willed and wants things done her way. As one can imagine, the record label isn't thrilled and this makes things difficult for Jane.

This book is part love story between Jane and another musician, Jesse. This book deals with addition, secrets, and music. The author includes lyrics from the songs, which is a great touch. However, it was hard to follow what the issue was some of the time. Jane has family of her aunt, cousin and grandmother (I believe), but it was hard to distinguish these characters because nothing was distinctive. Some of the other male musicians fell in the same category. There were a lot of characters introduced, but not developed.

Overall, this book was okay, but not overly memorable.

I'll start the review saying that I love the music, the culture, the fashion, etc... from the 1960's and 1970's, so when i read the premise for this book I knew it was everything I could want in a novel.

The book takes place in 1969-1971 starting at a fictitious musical festival on the east coast and is semi-based off of the real life affair with James Taylor and Joni Mitchell. At this time in music, soft, folk rock was just exploding - think Bob Dylan, James Taylor, Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Neal Young (you get the point!) Much like Daisy Jones & The Six, this book showcases the sexism during that time; the hardships female singers had to face to make it on their own. The Island Folk Festival is where Jane Quinn becomes a star.

This book is very well written. At times, it felt as though I was reading a biography on the artist(s) - it had a very authentic feel to it. Everything about this book was breathtaking. My one and only complaint is that this does follow the very stereotypical "sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll" route that so many of our beloved music books do.

This was really good! I got drawn into the story from the first chapter and found it hard to put down from then on. The story begins in 1969 at a music festival and the headline act, Jesse Reid can no longer perform after a motorbike accident. Local group, The Breakers with lead singer Jane Quinn take the stage instead and manage to win over the unhappy crowd with a brilliant performance. From there the book follows the music career of Jane and her romance with Jesse. Showing the sexism and misogyny within the music industry, not to mention the drugs and sex and partying, there’s also a focus on mental illness. I only found out after finishing this book and since reading about it, that it’s loosely based on James Taylor and Joni Mitchell. Im not a fan of either so I don’t think it’s essential to enjoy this book!
Great characters and writing, an excellent read.

When Jane Quinn steps on the stage at the Bayleen Island Folk Fest to fill in for the missing, yet clamored music sensation Jessie Reid, she has no idea that her whole life is about to change. From here on, Emma Brodie’s Songs in Ursa Major takes off, taking us along on a trip back through time, beginning in 1969 to the golden era of folk music. Janie Q and her band the Breakers have been around for a while, playing gigs around the island, but it was on that night, as Janie Q pulled off the incredible feat of entertaining an angry crowd disappointed by their idol, that Willy Lambert, a representative for Pegasus Records, notices the band and begins to pursue them.

At the same time, Jessie Reid’s disappearance is revealed – he was in a motorcycle accident the night he was supposed to perform. Rehabbing at the center where Jane and her aunt work, Jane and Jessie find common ground in their passion for music, this passion giving way for a meeting of their minds as they both begin to fall deeply for each other.

Working on the record does not go well for the Breakers, as their head producer, Vincent Ray, is not impressed by Jane — a girl — leading the band. To help them out, Jessie suggests they go on tour together, opening for him and his band. It’s on this tour that the band gets some traction and Jessie and Jane’s relationship grows. While the producers are pushing Jane to sell her relationship with Jessie, Jane refuses to let anyone outside of her inner circle know about it. She’s fixated on selling her album organically, believing full-heartedly that her talent is enough to sell records, not wanting to base her career on the sensationalism of celebrity gossip.

However, soon Jane discovers Jessie’s dark secret, and holding true to her own moral compass, she must end the relationship. When the tour is over, her band disperses, with some members moving away to spend time with their family and others moving on to other projects. Jane goes back home to her aunt and grandmother, to work at the local hairdresser, her heart broken not just from her split from Jessie but also from her split from the Breakers. To make matters worse, Jessie is on the cover of almost every magazine with Morgan Vidal, a young female folk singer who’s willing to sell her private life in order to make it in the business.

Jane then enters her darkest period. But in the throes of this darkness, her greatest work is born: the album Songs in Ursa Major.

It’s here that Brodie’s narrative shines its brightest. Her descriptions of the songs in Ursa Major are the epitome of what writing has been trying to do since the beginning of time: to capture the essence of something which would otherwise remain indescribable in words.

Her mastery of language through prose is evident when it comes time to describe the sound and emotions evoked by the music these fictional artists are composing in the story. We’re never left with a vague idea, nor does she resort to cheap/cop-out allegories to music we already know. Brodie delves in as deep as possible and does the work. These are unique works of music that exist within the realm of literature, and though we cannot experience them with our sense of hearing, Brodie ensures that we know exactly what we would be listening to.

This many-layered narrative is a work of art within itself, as Brodie maneuvers her way, not just around describing the music, but simultaneously creating a believable early-70s folk scene. She also concocts characters that stand all on their own as singular entities while braiding the thread of a romantic story arc that serves as the catalyst for many of the characters’ choices. The cherry on top is that she also gives us a strong female lead who, through sheer determination, forges her own way into the music industry at a time when women were less welcomed, on her own terms.

Brodie is a writer of the highest caliber. Her debut novel, Songs in Ursa Major, will leave you nostalgic for a time in which things seemed simpler and for the kind of music that moves something inside you that you didn’t know lived there before.

Slow and purposeful, this love letter to music is (in my opinion) one of the best books of 2021. The atmospheric approach to the journey of artistic, haunted Jane Quinn and mega-star Jesse Reid in the 1970s is sure to envelop readers, and the plot moves forward with such force that it never *feels* slow. Frankly, it's beautiful. It's music and love and family. It's an encapsulation of a time and an enchanting pursuit of a those we admire but often can't understand: the artists and entertainers, the genius creators of something wholly new and wonderful.
This will be great for fans of Daisy Jones and the Six, but it is truly a story all its own.

This book is easily my book of 2021. I read it back in May and I can't seem to get it out of my head. The characters are wonderfully developed and the story unfolds at an easy pace that leaves you wanting more. As I was reading, I kept instinctively going to google the characters as if they had been real people. I also kept catching myself about to search for the songs to listen to.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and I will be purchasing my own paper copy as soon as I can get my hands on it!
And thank you to NetGalley for the advanced preview!

I was only able to read up to 45% of this book and gave up. I could not connect with any of the characters, which is one of the main things I want to experience when reading a story. So that led to me not caring for any of the characters. I was expecting to read something along the lines of Daisy Jones and the Six. This story just fell flat.

Jesse Reid is the hottest name in music but because of an accident is unable to play his show at a music festival. Local Jane Quinn and her band steps up to play and wins over the crowd as well as some music executives. Jane and Jesse go on tour together, write music together, and fall in love, but the music industry (and addictions) are tough on relationships. It was a quick read and a cute story.

Absolutely loved this beautiful tale of Joan and Jesse, the band, the family, Bayleen Island, California, Greece....a saga worthy of a 1970s troubadour. A pageturner. This is the ovel DJATS should have been. Songs in Ursa Major has the well written prose that makes it far superior. I sort of feel like the end was rushed, but even that is ok. I can fill in the gaps with my imagination.

Songs in Ursa Major by Emma Brodie is the perfect title to add to your TBR list if your summer needs a little romantic rock n' roll. A fictionalized version of the Joni Mitchell/James Taylor love affair, this novel was right up my alley, complete with gauzy shirts, head scarves, bell bottoms and lingering glances. Set on a Martha's Vineyard- type island and rich with music, lyrics and insights into the creative process of songwriting, Songs in Ursa Major took me away. Perfect to pair with a re-listen to Joni Mitchell's Blue celebrating it's 50th anniversary this year. This book will break your heart a little, which is the point of music, isn't it? Recommended on my Satellite Sisters Best Beach Bag Books list for 2021.

I was intrigued by this book's description and it totally lived up to my hopes and expectations. I grew up in the 60s and 70s and remember how much the music of the time affected me. I was drawn to the characters and found them well-written and compelling, cheering for their triumphs and suffering along with them during their failures and struggles. I liked the author's writing style and the song lyrics that were inserted in the book. Thanks to NetGallety and Knopf Doubleday Publishing for a the galley.